Career and Education Opportunities for Funeral Directors in Indianapolis, Indiana

If you want to be a funeral director, the Indianapolis, Indiana area offers many opportunities both for education and employment. There are currently 880 working funeral directors in Indiana; this should grow 5% to 920 working funeral directors in the state by 2016. This is not quite as good as the nation as a whole, where employment opportunities for funeral directors are expected to grow by about 11.9%. Funeral directors generally perform various tasks to arrange and direct funeral services, such as coordinating transportation of body to mortuary for embalming, interviewing family or other authorized person to arrange details, selecting pallbearers, procuring official for religious rites, and providing transportation for mourners.

Funeral directors earn about $22 hourly or $45,780 yearly on average in Indiana and about $25 per hour or $52,210 yearly on average nationally. Earnings for funeral directors are not quite as good as earnings in the general category of Services in Indiana and not quite as good as general Services category earnings nationally. Jobs in this field include: funeral home manager, funeral location manager, and director.

There are thirty-six schools of higher education in the Indianapolis area, including one within twenty-five miles of Indianapolis where you can get a degree to start your career as a funeral director. The most common level of education for funeral directors is an Associate's, or other 2-year degree. You can expect to spend about two years studying to be a funeral director if you already have a high school diploma.

CAREER DESCRIPTION: Funeral Director

Funeral Director video from the State of New Jersey Dept. of Labor and Workforce Development

In general, funeral directors perform various tasks to arrange and direct funeral services, such as coordinating transportation of body to mortuary for embalming, interviewing family or other authorized person to arrange details, selecting pallbearers, procuring official for religious rites, and providing transportation for mourners.

Funeral directors offer counsel and comfort to bereaved families and friends. They also direct preparations and shipment of bodies for out-of-state burial. Equally important, funeral directors have to formulate and direct funerals, burials, and cremations, arranging details such as floral delivery and the time and place of services. They are often called upon to furnish data on funeral service options and products, and maintain a casket display area. They are expected to formulate placement of caskets at funeral sites, and place and adjust lights, fixtures, and floral displays. Finally, funeral directors oversee funeral home operations, including the hiring and supervision of embalmers or other staff.

Every day, funeral directors are expected to be able to articulate ideas and problems. They need to listen to and understand others in meetings. It is also important that they understand what others are saying to them even in a noisy environment.

It is important for funeral directors to manage pallbearers, and inform pallbearers and honorary groups of their duties. They are often called upon to receive and usher people to their seats for services. They also close caskets and lead funeral corteges to churches or burial sites. They are sometimes expected to confer with families or friends of the deceased to organize funeral details such as obituary notice wording and plans for services. Somewhat less frequently, funeral directors are also expected to formulate placement of caskets at funeral sites, and place and adjust lights, fixtures, and floral displays.

Funeral directors sometimes are asked to participate in community efforts for funeral home promotion or other purposes. and manage clergy members to perform needed services. And finally, they sometimes have to consider and negotiate prearranged funerals with clients.

Like many other jobs, funeral directors must be reliable and have exceptional integrity.

Similar jobs with educational opportunities in Indianapolis include:

Food Service Manager. Plan, direct, or coordinate activities of an organization or department that serves food and beverages.

Hotel or Motel Manager. Plan, direct, or coordinate activities of an organization or department that provides lodging and other accommodations.

Sales Manager. Direct the actual distribution or movement of a product or service to the customer. Coordinate sales distribution by establishing sales territories, quotas, and goals and establish training programs for sales representatives. Analyze sales statistics gathered by staff to determine sales potential and inventory requirements and monitor the preferences of customers.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES: Funeral Director Training

Ivy Tech Community College-Central Indiana - Indianapolis, IN

Ivy Tech Community College-Central Indiana, 50 W. Fall Creek Parkway N. Drive, Indianapolis, IN 46208-5752. Ivy Tech Community College-Central Indiana is a large college located in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is a public school with primarily 2-year programs and has 15,795 students. Ivy Tech Community College-Central Indiana has an associate's degree program in Funeral Service and Mortuary Science which graduated five students in 2008.

CERTIFICATIONS

Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence:
The Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence is a professional who leads and champions process-improvement initiatives everywhere from small businesses to multinational corporations that can have regional or global focus in a variety of service and industrial settings.

Program Management Professional:
Project Management Institute's newest credential is specifically developed to acknowledge the qualifications of the professional who leads the coordinated management of multiple projects and ensures the ultimate success of a program.

LOCATION INFORMATION: Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis, Indiana photo by File Upload Bot

Indianapolis is situated in Marion County, Indiana. It has a population of over 798,382, which has grown by 2.1% in the past ten years. The cost of living index in Indianapolis, 80, is well below the national average. New single-family homes in Indianapolis cost $155,400 on average, which is near the state average. In 2008, seven hundred thirty-four new homes were constructed in Indianapolis, down from 1,317 the previous year.

The three big industries for women in Indianapolis are health care, educational services, and accommodation and food services. For men, it is construction, professional, scientific, and technical services, and administrative and support and waste management services. The average travel time to work is about 23 minutes. More than 25.4% of Indianapolis residents have a bachelor's degree, which is higher than the state average. The percentage of residents with a graduate degree, 8.7%, is higher than the state average.

The percentage of Indianapolis residents that are affiliated with a religious congregation, 40.3%, is less than both the national and state average. The largest religious groups are the Catholic Church, the United Methodist Church and the Christian Churches and Churches of Christ.